Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd. (TRIFED) under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs & National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Ministry of AYUSH signed an MoU today which aims to promote Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) forest produce for livelihood development of tribal people by promoting primary level value addition to MAPs produce from forest area at grassroots level.
At the event marking the signing of the MoU, Tribal Affairs Minister Shri Jual Oram said that while tribal people have been growing medicinal plants, they are as yet unaware of the actual value of their produce. This MoU will help them realise the potential of their produce and help them achieve the true remuneration of their product.
The Minister said that through the efforts of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the focus of government has shifted towards ‘Van Dhan’ and the MoU seeks to further this vision of the Prime Minister. He added that just like Yoga, which had been present in India for centuries but gained prominence only after it was properly marketed, it is time to properly market the medicinal and aromatic plants grown by tribal people to help these products attain prominence. He forecast that through such efforts, with time, thousands of crores worth of investment will be driven in this sector and these products will soon reach the international arena.
The Minister of State for AYUSH Shri Shripad Yesso Naik said that the MoU will help in employment generation and skill upgradation of tribal people and will prove to be beneficial for them. Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Shri Sudarshan Bhagat added that since most of the tribal people are associated with farming, this MoU is also a step in the direction of achieving the vision of Prime Minister of doubling the income of farmers.
Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH, Shri Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha said that the MoU will help strengthen supply chain management for such produce and prove to be a win-win situation for both TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs and NMPB under Ministry of AYUSH. Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Shri Deepak Khandekar added that the MoU will greatly help the tribal population attain good remuneration for their produce.
